Goodbye
by tiger94
Summary: To remember Ralph Waite and his character as Jackson Gibbs. Jethro and Jenny must learn to live with the sad news of a loved one passing. Jenny and Jethro are married with 4 kids; Tony 10, Ziva 9, Tim 8 and Abby 4.


Goodbye

*This is a short story to remember Ralph Waite and his work on NCIS and Waltons

**This is also short story with Jen still alive and married to Gibbs

It was a normal Saturday morning Gibbs had just finished cleaning up the dishes from breakfast while listening to his family laugh in the living room. Tony and Ziva were playing a board game while Tony and Abby were playing on their computers. Jen was sitting in the lazy boy reading.

"Tony you rolled a 3 you moved 4 spaces stop cheating!" Ziva yelled as she moved his pawn back to start.

"Hey you are cheating you can't move other peoples pawns" he yelled back

Without warning he flipped the game board over and began to storm out, "excuse me young man you will come back here and clean up this mess" Jen stated as she placed her book on the coffee table.

With a groan he came back and helped pick up the game pieces and put the game back on the shelf. He sneered at Ziva one more time and walked upstairs to his room. It took awhile but everyone got back to what they were doing before and the laughter came back and smiles through out the house.

Gibbs had just finished putting the last of the plates away when the house phone rang. "Gibbs" he stated

Jen walked into the kitchen to see who was on the phone and watched as her husband's shoulders slumped and his head dropped. She mouthed the words whats wrong and all he did was shake his head.

"Yes I understand I will be there late tonight...thank...thank you" He said as he hung the phone up and looked down at the floor.

"Jet who was that?" Jen stated with concern

Gibbs didn't make a move he stood there for a few minutes before finally looking up to his wife. His eyes were not the sparkling blue she loved they were swimming in tears. She quickly walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and waited to hear what happened.

After a while Gibbs began to speak slowly, "something happened in Stillwater. My father passed away last night. He had a heart attack, he went quickly". After he finished he hugged Jen and walked outside and on to the back porch.

Jen stood in the kitchen with tears in her eyes as she watched her strong husband begin to break down. _God please help Jethro and our family as we face with the passing of his father. Lord give him the strength to cope with this and let him know that he is not alone during this hard times. Amen_

Jen wiped her face with a paper towel and went back to the living room to be with the kids. She silently watched as Abby and Tim played on their computers laughing at something. She looked to Ziva who was reading a book for school. Jen knew they were going to have to tell them but she wanted to wait until Gibbs was ready.

It was about one in the afternoon when everyone began to get hungry, "mom whens lunch?" Ziva asked.

But when Ziva saw Jen's puffy eyes she knew that she had been crying. "Mom whats wrong?" ZIva asked quietly to not get the others attention.

"What? Oh nothing sweetie" Jen said as she smiled at Ziva.

"Mom I'm hungry" Abby said as she crawled up into Jen's lap.

"OK sweetie lets go make some lunch"

So the group of four all went to the kitchen and began deciding what to make for lunch.

While the family began making lunch Gibbs was sitting on the back porch steps thinking how he was going to tell the kids about their grandfather. He knew that this was going to be hard on them because Jackson was the only blood relative they had, sure they have Grandpa Ducky and Uncle Tobias but they were not blood related. He knew this was going to be hard on the kids but didn't know if he would be able to be strong enough for all of them. He looked up to the sky, _Dad I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. _Gibbs slowly got up and dusted off his pants before he walked into the kitchen.

"Daddy look we are making pizza for lunch." Abby said with a cheeky grin.

"You are my favorite" Gibbs said with a smile that he faked, only Jen was able to tell but it still killed her that she couldn't help him.

"Hey sweetie could you go up and get Tony lunch is almost ready" Jen stated with a small smile.

Gibbs grunted walked towards the stairs, slowly he climbed them and went to the second door on the left. He knocked and opened the door. Tony was sitting at his desk on his computer. He had some dumb game on and was listening to music through headphones. Gibbs tapped his shoulder and pointed to the head phones. Tony took them out and waited for what his dad would say.

"Lunch" was all Gibbs said. He waited for Tony to get up and began walking out of his room. As Tony passed Gibbs, Gibbs ruffled his hair and shut the door.

Once Tony and Gibbs were back downstairs they all took their seats. Gibbs sat at the head of the table with Jen on his right, next to her sat Ziva and across from Gibbs Tony sat. Next to him was Tim and on the left of Gibbs Abby sat.

"Before we eat I have something to tell you all" Gibbs started

Jen placed her hands on his leg under the table and re-assured him with her eyes. Gibbs slowly cleared his throat and continued.

"I got a call this morning from an old friend in Stillwater. Grandpa Jack passed away last night"

A gasp escaped from everyone at the table and Abby began to cry, Gibbs picked her up and set her on his lap to try and calm her down.

"Did...did he su...suffer?" Tim quietly asked

"No he didn't Tim" Gibbs said as he tried to calm down Abby.

No one said anything for a few minutes Tony poked at his pizza before he set down his fork and laid his head down on his arms silently crying. Tim stared outside lost in his own thoughts over the great times he had with his grandfather. Ziva sat stiff as a board trying to keep face and not show how hurt and lost she was.

"I'm am going to Stillwater tonight and you will all come up a little later with mom." He stated as he looked at his family dealing with this sad news.

Abby sobbed as she clung to her father hoping that this was just a dream. Sadly though it wasn't. Gibbs rubbed small circles on her back he knew he should say something but he couldn't. After what seemed like forever the doorbell rang and interrupted the silence from the family. Slowly Jen got up and walked to answer the door.

At the door there was a delivery man from the local flower shop holding up a bouque of flowers and a small box.

"Does Leroy Gibbs live here?" the man asked

"Yes I am his wife" Jen stated

"These must before you and him then" he handed her the flowers and box. "Have a great day"

She smiled and thanked him and shut the door, she carried the flowers to the kitchen and set them on the counter and the box next to it. She noticed that the kids had all left the table and only Gibbs was still sitting there.

"Jet is there anything I can do for you?" she asked as he pulled her onto his lap.

"You are doing it right now" he stated as he placed his head on her shoulder.

After a couple minutes they both stood up, Gibbs walked up the stairs and past the kids rooms to the master bedroom. He went to the closet and pulled out a small suitcase. He began to throw all his toiletries and under garments in the bag along with some jeans and shirts. In a garment bag he placed three suits, a navy suit and black one and a slate grey one. He also placed in two white dress shirts and a black one. He then grabbed his dress shoes and placed them in the suit case. He zipped up both bags and carried them to the garage.

"Jet before you go you need to come here" Jen yelled from somewhere down the hall.

She was standing in the kitchen reading a card that was on the flower;

_Jen,_

_If you are reading this that means I am no longer here_

_I just wanted to let you know that you are the best thing_

_that has happened to my son. You are also the best _

_daughter-in-law a guy could have asked for. Know that I love _

_you so much. Also please tell the kids that I love them so much_

_and I am always looking after them. Tell Leroy that I love him_

_and that I don't want him to do anything stupid._

_Love_

_Jackson_

Jen wiped away a few tears as she looked at the flowers. She felt Gibbs wrap his arms around her waist and give her a backwards hug. She didn't say anything just handed him the box. He looked at the box and began to smile, Leroy was written on it. He knew that this was from his father without having to read any kind of note. He slowly opened the box and looked inside, inside there were only a couple pictures and six envelopes. Gibbs first pulled out the pictures and he and Jenny looked at them. The first was of Gibbs when he was about 2 running around in the back yard with only his underwear on. Jenny giggled as Gibbs smiled, he could remember that day like it was yesterday. The next picture was of Gibbs and his mother sitting on the boat his father had built. He flipped through a few more and saw two pictures that he wanted to keep close, one was of his mother and father on their wedding day and the other was of Gibbs and Jenny on their wedding day. He hugged Jenny one more time and let go. He took out the six envelopes and placed them on the counter. They each had a name on them there was one for Tony, Tim, Ziva, Abby Jethro and one said Family.

He took the pictures and placed them back in the box. Jen turned around and kissed him one more time.

"You should get going if you want to make Stillwater at a decent hour tonight."

"I know, I love you and will call you when I get there"

Jen kissed Gibbs one more time and watched as he climbed the stairs to say goodbye to the kids.

"Bye guys I will see you in a few days" he said to the group that were all in Tony's room. Abby jumped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, Ziva hugged him and Tony and Tim both waved.

Gibbs slowly closed the door and made his way down stairs. Jen was standing at the door holding his suit case. Gibbs took it and hugged her with all his strength. "Call you later" he said as he pulled the door shut to his car.

He pulled out and waved.

It was around 10 pm when Gibbs pulled up to his childhood home, before he walked in he had called Jen and let her know that he made it safely. They talked for a few minutes and then he hung up with a promise he would call her first thing in the morning. He slowly got out of the car and walked up the front steps to the door, he slid his hand under the welcome matt and found the spare key his father kept there. He unlocked the door and walked in, as he shut the door he could still smell his father's cologne. He hung his garment bag in the closet and set his suit case on the bed. He knew that he wasn't going to get any sleep so he decided he would walk to his fathers store. It took him about five minutes and he finally got to the store.

Slowly he walked in and leaned up against the door frame. He took in the store, he knew this could be one of the last times he would be in the store and they way it looked now. Up behind the counter was his father's shotgun, the one he was never allowed to touch. Next to it was a picture of his father and the first Leroy Jethro. Gibbs walked behind the counter and took down the picture, it had been a few years since Leroy passed and now his father was gone. He set the picture next to his phone that was sitting on the counter, he wanted to take that home for sure. He walked to the back and went to the safe, his father had all the funeral arangements made already so he wouldnt have to bother his son with all the small details. Gibbs took out the files and set them out, he made a mental note to call and make sure everything was correct. He shut the safe and walked out to the front of the store. He grabbed the picture and his phone and returned back to the house.

The next morning Gibbs had began calling the funeral home and the church. Everything was indeed set up and ready. He drove to the funeral home and talked to the director of the funeral home. It was around noon and everything was set up the family viewing was set for friday night and the funeral would be held Saturday at eleven in the morning.

So Gibbs decided that it was time for the family to make it to Stillwater. He reached for his phone and dialed the number.

"Hello" Jen's voice said on the other side of the line.

"Everything is all set just need my wife and kids up here" Gibbs said

"Ok we will leave tonight. How are you doing though?"

"Sounds good but be careful and if you need to stop stop don't push yourself."

"Yes I know sweetie, how are you?"

"You know Jen, I am just trying to get through this. I never knew how hard it would be to lose my father. I need you here with me."

"I know sweetie I will be there soon."

"Ok sounds good love you see you tomorrow"

"Love you to get some rest"

With that Jen and Gibbs hung up. Jen sat down on her bed and looked at the photo of her and Gibbs sitting on Jackson's front porch. With one last sigh she pushed her self up off the bed and began packing her suitcase.

Once her suitcase was packed she helped iron the boys suits and shirts, she had the kids pack up their suitcases with their necessities.

"Mom what are we going to do in Stillwater?" Tim asked as he shoved his book into his back-pack.

"We are going to celebrate grandpa's life" she simply stated as she finished packing the suits and dresses in a separate garment bag.

After the car was packed they all climbed in and began the long trip to Stillwater. They left right around dinner time so after about five minutes on the road the kids began complaining that they were hungry. Jen turned the SUV into a Subway parking lot. The kids all climbed out and raced inside. After they had all ordered they all made their way back to the car. Once inside Jen passed out the sandwiches and drinks. She then began to drive to Stillwater. Tim had brought his portable DVD player so he set it up and Tony placed in a movie. It was one of the family favorites, National Treasure. After they had all finished dinner and the movie the kids all got out their own entertainment devices, this allowed Jen to have some quiet time while driving.

As Jen pulled into Stillwater it was only six in the morning the kids were still fast asleep. She pulled up to the old house Jackson lived in and saw Gibbs sitting out on the front porch reading the newspaper. Something Jackson did every morning. She climbed out of the car and walked up to Gibbs. He set down his coffee mug and walked towards her, she ran right into his open arms. Gibbs kissed her head and rubbed her back, this was a hard time on them all.

Gibbs and Jenny both went and began waking the kids up to take into the house. Jenny gently rubbed Ziva's back to wake her up. Ziva groggily opened her eyes and smiled at her mom, "morning mom"

"Morning sweetie, why don't you go inside and lay down on the couch." Jen said as she watched Ziva move slowly out of the car.

Gibbs had gone to the other side and opened the door to wake up Abby. However he just couldn't wake her up. So he simply picked her up and carried her in. Ziva followed him in and went straight to the couch. Gibbs set Abby down on the other side and covered the girls up. He turned to go back out and saw Tony and Tim dragging themselves up the steps and into the house. Tony threw his pillow on the ground next to the couch and laid down. Tim smiled up at his father and then went and curled up in the love seat. Gibbs smiled at his kids and walked outside to grab the baggage. He grabbed the boys and girls suitcases and set them on the ground, he then reached in and grabbed Jen's and set it on the ground. He proceeded to shut the trunk door and picked them all up. He went up the stairs and set the boys suitcase in the first room and set the girls in the room across from the boys. He walked down that hall and placed Jen's suitcase next to his fathers room.

The family spent the rest of the day just sitting inside and remembering stories about their grandfather. Around 4 o'clock Jen began to get everyone ready. Tim jumped in the shower first and took a short shower, then Tony jumped in. Down the hall Abby was just finishing up her shower while Ziva was getting her clothes ready for when she was done in her shower. Abby walked in and Ziva walked out and hopped in the shower.

Down the hall from the kids Jen and Gibbs were both getting ready in the master bedroom and bath. Gibbs was busy putting on his tie that matched his dark blue shit and white shirt. Jen slipped on a dark blue dress and was busy putting her hair up in a french twist. Gibbs slipped behind her and slicked his hair back. They had a silent conversation encouraging the other that they would make it through this together. Once they were both done, they proceeded down the hall. Gibbs went into the boys room to see if they needed help. Tony was wearing a black suit and a black shirt while Tim was wearing a grey suit with a white shirt. Gibbs walked over to Tony and began helping him put his tie on the correct way while Tim started to comb his hair back just like his fathers. After Gibbs helped Tony he did the exact same thing to Tim. The three of them walked out of the room and down the stairs to wait for the girls.

Jen walked into the girls room and notice that they were not ready at all. Ziva was still blow drying her hair while wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. Abby was a little closer however she still had to do her hair. Jen went over and sat on the bed and Abby came and had her out her hair in pigtails. Once her hair was done she went into the bathroom and began brushing her teeth. Ziva had just finished blow drying her hair and was attempting to put it up in a tight bun. With Jen's help she was able to get it the way she wanted. Once Abby had finished she walked out along with Jenny to give Ziva the room to get dressed. Abby was wearing a black dress with a black shaw to cover her arms from the chill. After a couple minutes Ziva came out wearing a deep blue dress that matched her mothers. She had a small necklace on and she too was wearing a shaw that matched her dress.

The family all did one more big group hug and climbed into the SUV. They drove silently to the funeral home for the family viewing. Once they pulled up to the church Gibbs put the car in park but didnt get out.

"Now you guys are going to see many people who you don't know. Some may know you while others don't please be polite. Also you will meet some of Grandpa's brothers and their kids, so you will get to meet your cousins." Gibbs said

After his small speech the family made their way inside. Once inside the church many poeple were standing around and talking quietly. Some were crying and others were talking about how Jackson had made an impression on their lives. When Gibbs stepped through the door everyone turned to face him. Many grew quiet as Gibbs and the family made there way into the church.

Everyone watched for a minute and began talking again. Abby stayed close to Gibbs while the rest kind of fell in line behind their parents. Gibbs was holding Jen's hand as a man with a cane walked up to him.

"Leroy is that you?" said the man

"Uncle Jerry?" Gibbs questioned

The man came up and hugged Gibbs. Abby tensed when she saw the man, he sort of looked like her grandpa but he was completely bald.

"I'm sorry for your loss Leroy" Jerry told him once he let go of the hug.

"So am I Uncle Jer" Gibbs said

"Who is this young lady standing behind you?" Jerry asked

"Uncle Jerry this is my family; Jen my wife, Tony my oldest son, Ziva my oldest daughter, Tim my youngest son and finally Abby my youngest." he stated as he pointed to each of them.

Jen smiled and shook his hand, Tony and Tim followed suit. Ziva waved and Abby gave a shy smile. After Jerry met the family he saw some old friends and excused him self. Tony and Tim saw some empty seats in the back and they walked towards them, they felt out of place but they knew that this was something they had to do so they quietly walked and sat down. Ziva followed Jen around while she met some of Gibbs's old classmates and some extended family.

Jethro and Abby walked around for a bit mingling and saying hi to some family members and friends. After twenty minutes or so Abby went and sat down next to Tim and Tony and watched as their father talked to many people they had never met. Jen and Gibbs met back up and together they went around for a bit longer. Ziva eventually went and sat down with her siblings.

After an hour Jen went and sat down with her kids and had a small conversation with them and to complempt them on how well they were acting. After sometime the crowd seemed to dwindle, after the last family member said their good byes to Gibbs at the door he walked to his family.

"Thank you" was all he said

Jen stood up and slipped her hand in his, the kids all stood up and fell in line behind their parents.

"Kids we are going to go look at grandpa one more time, you can come with us or meet us at the door." Jen said with a small smile.

The kids all looked at eachother and all had a conversation that Jen and Gibbs couldn't hear. Gibbs let go off Jen's hand and watched as she went up said her oodbyes to Jackson. To Gibbs surprise he saw Tony go up followed by Tim and Ziva. Abby quietly waited and finally moved towards the casket, she looked in and saw her grandfather for the last time. A small tear fell from her eyes as she walked to her mom who wrapped her up in a hug.

Finally Gibbs walked to the casket, "good bye dad...I'm sorry i wasn't there for you when you needed me to. I love you" with that he looked at his dad one more time and walked towards his family.

Jenny gave him a quick hug and the family began to walk to the car. As they got in the car a small rain began, it rained all the way to the house.

Once safely inside Gibbs and Jenny both walked to the master bedroom and shut the door. Tim and Tony undid their tie and sat down on the couch while Ziva and Abby went up to their room.

It was a half hour later before everyone began talking again. They all were sitting in the living room, Tim was reading a book, while Ziva sat out looking out the window as it rained. Abby sat next to Jen who was going through some old photo albums. Tony was sitting on the floor listening to his iPod. Gibbs was sitting in the old recliner and was just watching his family every so often hearing a small laughter from Jen.

"Everyone" he started saying to get everyones attention, "I just want to thank you for being so nice and kind today at the viewing. I know it was hard to meet all those people while also grieving for loosing your grandfather. You don't know how much that means to me, so thank you all" with that he walked to the stereo and put in a Frank Sinatra cd and turned it down to so it wouldn't ruin the family time.

Jen stood up and kissed his cheek as she went to the kitchen it was about dinner time so she began cooking something. She went into the fridge and grabbed some hamburger and she cooked that and then went to the pantry and grabbed spaghetti noodles and the sauce to make spaghetti. Jen quietly made dinner and was getting the dishes out to set the table when Tony came in to the kitchen.

"Need help?" he asked as he grabbed the plates

"Thanks, you know you are acting quite mature this past week" she stated as she stired the sauce

"I just feel like since I am the oldest I should be able to help around the house when you and dad need me to. You shouldn't have to tell me what to do all the time. I love you mom." he said as he placed the silverware down.

Jen walked around the island and pulled Tony into a big hug,"you are growing up and I am proud of you".

After the hug Tony finished setting the table and went to see what everyone wanted to drink. Once he got everyones drinks he went back to the living room to play on his phone some more.

"Dinner is served" Jenny stated as she place the big pot of spaghetti on the table.

"Looks great" Gibbs said with a small smile.

_Lord bless this food and the hands that prepared it. Lord please help our family during this time of heart ache, bless those who are not with us. In your name we pray amen. _After Gibbs finished praying he began to serve the dinner.

"Thanks mom for dinner can we be excused?" Tim asked as he saw that his siblings were all finished.

"Yes you may" Jen answered as she watched the kids leave the table.

"I will do the dishes ok?" Gibbs stated

Jen simply nodded as she watched him begining to gather up the plates. He placed them all in the sink, he then filled the sink up with warm soapy water and began washing the dishes just like his father taught him.

Jen loved watching her husband do anything but when he did dishes she was able to always get a great look at his but, it was perfectly firm.

"Jen you are staring at me" he stated as he scrubbed the last plate.

"Can't help it" she said with a smile

He turned to look at her and smiled and winked at her, Gibbs mouthed the words I love you and then turned back to scrub the big pot.

She slowly got up from her chair and came and wrapped her arms around Gibbs.

"Jet you know I love you and am here for you right"

He nodded his head.

"You also know that I lost a father-in-law but I want to be here for you. What can I do?"

He shook his head with out her knowing it she was doing everything he ever wanted her to do. She was there supporting him and was there for the kids. After rinsing the pot he set in on the towel on the counter to air dry. He turned in her arms and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her with passion.

He slowly let go but kept hold of one hand, he led her to the sofa and sat down pulling her down on his lap. They sat like that until it was time to put the kids to sleep.

It was around ten pm when Jenny and Jethro made it to bed. Jen was in bed reading when Gibbs crawled into bed, he pulled her to his chest and began rubbing her back in small circles. Before they knew it they were both fast asleep, Jen was on Gibbs chest.

"Do you think they are up?" Abby asked Tim outside their parents room.

"Don't know" Tim shrugged his shoulders as he whipered.

Abby shrugged her shoulders and opened the doors. She saw her mom curled up next to her dad sleeping. So she quietly crept over to Gibbs side.

"Dad...dad you awake?" she whispered

Grumbling Gibbs pulled the covers up higher.

Abby poked at his side, "dad"

"Wha..what?" He said as he slowly rolled over.

"What time is it?" Jen said as she was woken up by all the movment on the bed.

She looked at the clock and saw that it was already nine in the morning, they all had to shower and get ready for the funeral which started at eleven. She smiled at Abby and Tim and patted the bed to allow them to get under the covers as she crawled out of the bed. She tucked them in once they were tucked in she went to the bathroom and shut the door. A few minutes later water turned on. Gibbs pulled Abby up to him and kissed her head and then he ruffled Tim's hair.

He got up out of bed to go check to see if the others were up too. To his surprise not only was Tony up but he was almost dressed in his black suit with a white shirt. He was busy brushing his teeth when his dad walked in so he just waved. Gibbs smiled and waved back before leaving and going to check on Ziva. He opened her door to find that she was sitting on her bed silently crying.

Gibbs rushed over to her and pulled her on to his lap.

"Whats wrong baby girl?"

"I miss grandpa she sobbed" as she buried her head into her fathers chest.

He slowly rubbed her back, he knew that today was going to be hard but didn't know that it would be this hard on all of them. He quietly rocked her trying to console her to no avail.

After a while she stopped crying and was looking down at the floor.

"You know you don't have to hid the fact that you miss him right Ziver" Gibbs said

"But you do. I thought we should not show you so we wouldn't have to take away your time from getting everything ready for today." She whispered into his shirt

"Sweetie I only hide my feelings because I want to be strong for you and your siblings, if you ask your mom she knows that I did break down and cried." Gibbs said.

"You cried?"

"The day I got the news, yesterday"

"So you don't mind me wanting to cry and be with you?"

"No Ziva I want you to come to me no matter what ok?"

Ziva nodded her head as she hopped off his lap, "do you think grandpa would of like this dress?" she asked holding up a black dress with a black bow in the back.

"He would of loved it" Gibbs said as he stood up and walked to the door.

Ziva smiled at him as she walked into the bathroom. Gibbs walked back down to his bedroom and heard the shower turn off. Abby and Tony had vacated the room to also get ready. Jenny made her way out wrapped up in a towel while she used another towel to dry her hair. As Gibbs passed her he gave her a kiss and hopped in the shower.

It was a little after ten when the family pulled up to the church. The slowly climbed out Jen squezzed Gibbs hand before he climbed out of the car. The family walked in and Gibbs went to talk to the pastor. Uncle Jerry came up and welcomed Jenny and the kids once again. He showed them where they would be sitting for the funeral.

Once they all were sitting Gibbs came and sat down with them, it was just a little after eleven when the pastor walked up to the pulpit.

"We are here to celebrate the life of Jackson Gibbs, a husband a father and a friend." the pastor began.

After a short prayer the pastor asked if anyone wanted to say anything. Slowly Tony stood up and walked towards the front much to the surprise of his parents.

"Jackson Gibbs was my grandfather," he began saying, " he was the best grandpa you could of asked for. He was always there for me and my siblings. He was a great story teller. I loved him so much you will be missed grandpa" and with that Tony walked back to his seat.

Jen wrapped her arm around him as he sat down and wiped a tear from his eye. Gibbs stared at the floor for a minute before he slowly stood up and made his way to the front.

"My dad was a man who you always wanted in you corner. He was always willing to help no matter what. During the hardest times in my life he was with me through it all. Goodbye dad" and with that Gibbs walked back to his seat fighting off a few tears.

After a few more friends went up to speak about how Jackson helped them and told stories about him the pastor came back up and led the church in the song Amazing Grace, and a prayer. After that he began naming off the pole bearers; and as the men heard their name they took their place next to the coffin.

As the coffin was slowly lowered into the grave the only sounds that you could hear what sniffles and sobs. Abby was clinging to Gibbs right arm as Ziva was on his left. They both looked on as the coffin was lowered. Jenny stood next to Ziva with Tim and Tony both on the other side. Tim and Tony both stood stiff and saluted as the coffin finally came to rest in the grave. After one last prayer led by the group everyone began to disperse. As everyone left Jenny and Jethro both stood there with the kids.

"Goodbye dad" Gibbs said as he slowly turned away from the coffin and walked his family back to the SUV.

***Ralph Waite will always be remembered for everything he did, he was a great actor. He left a gap in this earth when he left no one will be able to fill it. Rest in Peace Papa Gibbs***

****Hope this story was good in a way to bid fare well to a great actor****


End file.
